Quince an important fruit

Quince is a hard, acid pear shaped fruit used in preserves or used as flavoring. Botanical name of quince is Cydonia Oblonga. Family is Rosaceae. In Urdu this fruit is called as Safarjal or bahi.

Quince an important fruitQuince is only the fruit whose zikar is found in Hades. In ibn-e maja Holy prophet(saw) has said eat this  fruit as it reduce heart attack and also said, this is the fruit which  was brought from Janna and non of Prophet had not passed who did not use this fruit.

Growing regions are Azad Kashmir, Sawat, Merdan, Murree, this fruit was famous in Syria and also available in Pakistan.

Quince is a small deciduous tree similar in appearance to a pear. Tree grow 5 to 8 m high, leaves are arranged alternately, flowers produce in spring after the leaves are pink or of white color with five petals.Weight of quince fruit is 250g to 750g or more in some varieties.

Fruit found in September and in October.Top producers of quince are Turkey, China, Morocco, Iran, Spain, Algeria, Serbia.One of the great importance about quince is this, when a baby born in Balkans, then quince tree is planted as a symbol of fertility, love and life.

Quince are propagated from hard wood cutting should be about 25cm long taken during late autumn or early winter period. This is most convenient method of propagation but the disadvantage is that the resultant trees tend to produce suckers.Quince seedling used for root stock and it have the advantage that the trees will not produce sukers.

More ever quinces are propagated sexually and a sexually. When propagated sexually then quince seedlings should be desire, quince seed is extracted from mature fruit, cleaned, stratified, and should be stored in cool dry place. When propagated a sexually then multiple plant lets grown from shoot tissue taken from single plant resulting in identical clones this method is preferred for root stock development.

Seedling grown in full sun, partial sun, PH should be acid neutral. Soil drainage should be well drained,soil type is preferred best as clay loam. Its growth rate is slow, drought tolerant, average tolerant, habit is oval rounded. Its seasonal interest are spring, summer, fall winter.Quince is very adaptable it grows in a wide range of soil types light and dry soil condition should be avoided.Heavy and moist soils are suitable for quince slightly acidic soils are preferred for quince because quinces are susceptible to iron deficiency under alkaline conditions.

Some wind breaks such as planted windbreak is desirable. For storage of quince select fruits that are large, firm and yellow with little or no green picked when quince are full yellow and firm, should be handle carefully as they bruise easily. Raped quince in a plastic bag and refrigerate them for up to 2 months. Quince can also be stored at homes if it stored in cool dark place away from heat and humidity for a several weeks.

For harvesting experts says that harvesting begin when color changes from dark to light green  color usually in fall most quinces do not ripen on trees instead they ripen during cool storage only undamaged fruit should be picked.

For fresh fruit market smaller size quinces are packed in fiberboard carton but the large size quinces may not fitted in tray packs  they can be fitted in a single layer tray care must be taken when loose filling.

For marketing quince is sold fresh at local farmers, market, can also be found in grocery stores.Quince is a re- emerging fruit crop in United States. Quince fruits are pruned on the tips of shoot made during the previous year they do not form fruiting spur, prune and train is done in dormant season.

For good cropping prune every winter when growth can be thinned to improve light penetration and air circulation. Remove crowded branches very vigorous shoot, and branches showing little growth.

There are number of edible quinces to be chosen from Portugal best flavor fruit, pear shaped, deep golden yellow color, more vigorous from other cultivar but it is less hardy. Meech s prolific also pear shaped, bright golden yellow color, very good in flavor, flowers are large and growth is vigorous. Ripening period for quinces are early summer- June, midsummer-July, late summer- august, early fall-September, mid fall- October.

For quince if irrigation is insufficient then the fruit may drop prematurely at least 1 inch water is necessary each week for growth and fruit production.Fertilizing tips for quinces is that when planting then do not put fertilizer in a planting hole. Fertilize no more than 2 times each year beginning in March or no later than July. Yield of quinces is 25 to 35 tones fruit per hectare.

Varieties of quinces are, Aromatnaya, Kuganskaya, Smyrana, and VAN Demon. Like all others fruits some diseases also occur on quinces and attack of insects are also common for example diseases are black spot, fleck are common and insect are borer, fruit fly, codling moth, scales, rust etc.

uses of quinces

There are great uses of quinces such as

  • Reduce appearance in wrinkles and improve health skin.
  • Boost immune system.
  • Protect skin against harmful effect of UV radiation.Stimulate and improve health of hairs follicles.
  • Prevent cardiovascular disorder and cancer.
  • Aids in reducing excess weight by improving digestive health.
  • Good for pregnant woman if she eats it from start can give birth to a beautiful child. Quince helps in controlling blood pressure.
  • Its juice is beneficial for peoples suffering from gastric ulcers. when mixed with honey help in treating colitis, diarrhea, constipation.
  • Boiledor baked quince relieves nausea and vomiting.
  • Beneficial for those suffering from liver and eye diseases
  • Used to make jellies, jams, quince cheese can also be prepared.
  • Used in medicine because it is a rich source of vitamin c, znic, potassium, copper, iron, and dietary fiber.
  • Rich in certain organic compound like catechin, limonene and various other phytonutrients which contribute to our health.

By Muhammad Adnan

I am professionally qualified as agronomist and studying MSc. (Hons.) agronomy at College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan and focusing on plant nutrition and weed management. I Completed my B.Sc. (Hons.) in agriculture in 2018 from University of Sargodha.